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Swallowing Difficulty and the Late Effects of Polio

Brian Tiburzi

Barbara C. Sonies, PhD, CCC, BRS-S, College Park, Maryland A major polio epidemic in the mid-20th century left many survivors with a wide variety of physical limitations including problems swallowing foods. Many persons with swallowing problems also had original bulbar signs of polio including difficulty breathing, clearing the throat, speaking and singing. Some persons however, had no overt signs of …

Losing Speech

Brian Tiburzi

“Promoting Positive Solutions,” Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 2, Spring 2013 Question: I am a 62-year-old happily married mother of two. I have a history of bulbar polio and have started speech therapy for new swallowing difficulties and problems with vocal endurance. Thus far, I have been able to adjust to every change brought on by post-polio syndrome, but this new change …

Anesthesia Specifics for PPS

Brian Tiburzi

Selma Calmes, MD, (ret) anesthesiologist 1. Post-polio patients are nearly always very sensitive to sedative meds, and emergence can be prolonged. This is probably due to central neuronal changes, especially in the Reticular Activating System, from the original disease. 2. Non-depolarizing muscle relaxants cause a greater degree of block for a longer period of time in post-polio patients. The current …